No summer vacation for many Eastern Iowa teachers

Although it's frequently referred to as “summer vacation,” few public school teachers walk away from school in June looking forward to three work-free months.

Many use the time off to supplement their incomes by working part-time jobs in June, July and August.

Ashley Marousek is a fourth-grade teacher at Westfield Elementary in the Linn-Mar School District, going into her fifth year of teaching. After her students have run off to their summertime pursuits, she spends the time working as a nanny for a local couple three days a week.

“It probably helps that I'm a teacher for that,” she said. “I've never had a problem finding a job.”

That's not all. Her frequent patronage of Volleys volleyball court, 265 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE in Cedar Rapids, helped her land a second summer job there, working once a week as a bartender.

Summer moonlighting is common among teachers, said Marousek, especially among those who, like her, don't have kids of their own to worry about. She believes teachers are more likely to seek out jobs that match their interests and passions, with several of her colleagues working as tutors or coaches in the summer.

That's certainly true for Marousek's summer jobs. She became a teacher because she loves working with children, and volleyball is her favorite pastime.

That's also true for Marion High School language arts teacher Kevin Wake. His volunteer work with the Classics at Brucemoore outdoor summer theater turned into a paid position shortly after he started seven years ago.

He works behind the scenes as a technical assistant. He takes many of the theatrical tricks he learns back to his school district, where he also serves as the districtwide technical director for theatrical productions.

“I'm involved in almost every production on the K-12 level. There's a lot that I learn to pass on to the kids,” he said.

Pursuing her passion pays Iowa City art teacher Jenny Saylor in something besides money. She and her husband, fellow West High teacher Brady Shutt, spend much of the summer in physical training for triathlons. That means nine workouts a week, three each of running, swimming and jogging.

That can be tough to squeeze in during the school year, making summer the ideal training time.

“It's definitely hard to work your eight, nine hours of training a week and then go back to school,” she said.

They've competed in three triathlons and plan to squeeze in three more before school starts.

Some fun mixed with demands of job

All three teachers said the demands of their primary profession are never far away.

On top of her two side jobs, Marousek is taking three classes via Colorado State University. Kane is taking courses toward renewing his teacher certification, and Saylor is revamping some of her curriculum and setting up her classroom, starting Aug. 1.

"I don't think we ever completely let it go,” she said. “We do try to put it on the back burner a little bit.”

Sometimes professional development means more teaching, but to a different audience. North Liberty teacher Keith Feldman is part of a group of Iowa City district teachers conducting workshops for colleagues this summer.

On days when he's not teaching, he estimates he spends about four hours preparing for his class, usually working at a local coffee shop or meeting with colleagues at Van Allen Elementary School.

“It's a big amount of content to learn in the summer, but the course we're teaching for the school leaders will help them help teachers as they work throughout the school years,” Feldmann said.

The workshop is on differentiation, the academic practice of designing instruction to fit the varying learning abilities of kids in a classroom, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach. It's a technique the school district has placed a high emphasis on, and Feldman estimates more than 360 Iowa City teachers will have taken the workshop by the end of the summer.

So summer vacation might not be three months off, but that doesn't mean its three solid months of work, either. After school let out, Marousek went to Washington with a friend to see the sights.

“It was fun, but it was a definite nerd trip,” she said. “I kept wondering how I could tie what I saw back to class.”